Economy
Qatar’s Financial Hub to Add Sports, Media to Compete With Dubai
Qatar Financial Centre wants to attract companies other than just banks and asset managers to position itself as a multi-faceted business hub with better access than the country’s rival Dubai to markets including Turkey, Pakistan and Kuwait.
The new strategy is focused on building out four “clusters” for activities ranging from sports to media, Yousuf Al-Jaida, chief executive officer of the Qatar Financial Centre Authority, said in Doha.
The center drew up the plan after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut economic and diplomatic ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing the Gulf country of financing terrorist groups and having close ties with Iran. Qatar rejects the charges. The rift forced it to shift trade and transportation routes to Kuwait and Oman and to buy goods from Iran and Turkey.
Doha is working toward taking on rivals in the Gulf Cooperation Council by trying to attract overseas investment and developing into a bigger business hub. Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E. are taking similar steps, with plans to relax company ownership rules and grant foreigners permanent residencies.
“There has always been this view that there can only be one hub in the region,” Al-Jaida said. The embargo has provided a chance for QFC to be an alternative financial center, “especially with the current geopolitical tensions.”
The clusters would include:
Sports services: Qatar will host the 2022 soccer World Cup and plans to use momentum for the world’s most-watched tournament to build out related services
Financial technology: QFC has partnered with such firms in operating in Europe and India, and the government is financing startups in Qatar
Digital businesses: The hub would include companies operating in health care, cloud-computing and cybersecurity
Media: QFC is to provide a legal framework and facilities for a “media city” that wouldn’t be subject to government restrictions on speech
The center will continue to help its fund managers expand their assets, and plans to link up with Turkey and Malaysia to provide Islamic finance services worldwide, Al-Jaida said.
-
News2 months agoINVESTIGATION: Why Nokia Could Matter More in the Quantum Age Than It Ever Did in Mobile
-
News2 months agoINVESTIGATION: Is AI in a Bubble? Inside the Trillion-Dollar Question Reshaping Global Markets
-
News2 months agoThales & Ankaa to Deliver Multi-Mission Air Traffic Surveillance Radars for Oman, Capable of Supporting Civil & Military Operations
-
Economy2 months agoOMIFCO Successfully Completes Bookbuilding & Sets Final IPO Offer Price
-
Economy2 months agoWhat Higher Oil Prices Mean for Oman’s Economy in 2026
-
Business1 month agoOman India Fertiliser Company Lists on Muscat Stock Exchange
-
Insurance2 months agoLEADERSPEAK: Dhofar Insurance CEO Sunil Kohli on Oman’s Insurance Sector, Reinsurance & Market Outlook
-
Banking & Finance1 month agoBank Muscat posts net profit of RO137.49 million in H1 2026

You must be logged in to post a comment Login